It has been exactly one week, since I returned from an eight-day stay in New York City for the Thrillerfest Writing Conference. While there, I not only had cocktails with famous authors, but I listened to them pour their hearts out trying to help aspiring writers make it through the solitude trenches to publication. My notebook is filled with over 60 pages of NEW hand-written information that I didn’t receive the past two years I have attended. How is it, I still have so much to learn?​Most of the information given at Thrillerfest is top secret to the writers who attend the conference, but just in case you are writing a thriller, suspense, mystery or crime novel, here are a few tidbits I can share with you:

Kidnap negotiator Thea Paris has spent her entire life with survivor's guilt, following an unspeakable childhood tragedy. At eight years old, she watched, frozen in fear, as her twelve-year-old brother, Nikos, was abducted from their home in Kanzi, Africa. Although he was recovered nine months later, he was never the same after that; worse, Thea discovers that she was supposed to have been the target.

This defining experience drives Thea to become one of the top operatives in the field of kidnap-and-ransom consultancy. Nicknamed "Liberata" because she once secured the release of a captive from the Sicilian mob without her client paying a cent, she travels the globe trying to bring hostages home--mostly through negotiation, but occasionally through more forceful means. She is very good at her job. ​

Research is the name of the game...

Rose-Ann Marchitto, K.J. Howe, Lori Twining and Colleen Winter.

Tonight, a few of my writing buddies decided to take a road trip with me to the Northern District Library in Toronto to visit with the Sisters In Crime: Toronto Chapter and listen to my Thrillerfest writing buddy talk about kidnapping and ransom. K.J. Howe has recently released her debut novel called The Freedom Broker,which explores the dark world of elite kidnap negotiation and recovery. What a fascinating topic for me.

Lori Twining

I love reading, writing and Skittles. I’ve been writing for a decade or two now, but only over the past few years have I started calling myself a writer and actually believing it. I want to share my experience with you.